Eclipsing the Cycle
by Aerophin
Summary: They bend to the Goddesses' will, but it's time to end the cycle. Zelda gives a plea, and the bearers of the Triforce will never stand in the same dimension again. — LinkZelda. AU series.
1. Waking Dreams

**Author Note:** _Eclipsing the Cycle_ is going to be a 50-chapter AU LinkxZelda series. I've really been wanting to return to the Zelda fandom for a while now, so how better than with a Zelink series? This chapter stands as prologue of sorts for the series. The themes used are from the 30kisses community on Livejournal. Each chapter, which shouldn't be more than 1,000 words at best, features some sort of Zelink relationship in a different alternate universe and aren't related unless specifically noted. Enjoy!

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**Prologue: Waking Dreams**

"Please," implored the Princess, the hero's blood slipping through her fingers to pool on the cold marble floor, "_please_, Goddesses."

She cradled the hero's head in her lap, her brunette locks falling out of place to fall upon his features. She swept a finger across his brow, further smearing blood and sweat, but she didn't care. His eyes, his beautifully clear blue eyes, were squeezed shut, and as he coughed up more blood, his brows furrowed in pain. Zelda choked back another sob, and lifted her eyes to a statue of the three goddesses situated behind the throne.

"Please," she began again, "end this cycle. I cannot bear to see him like this again. Tear us apart if it means his freedom. I will give anything to stop the destruction of Hyrule time and time again." She closed her eyes and pressed a kiss to the fallen hero's brow.

"Fool," growled Ganondorf from the other side of the throne room. He attempted to stand, but the wound in his side forced him to the ground again. With a coughing fit, he rumbled, "The goddesses care nothing for you or your precious hero. Hyrule is merely a playground with which to enact their every whim."

"_Please_," the Princess whispered against her hero's brow, tears sliding down her cheeks.

Silence engulfed the throne room like a smothering blanket. Zelda watched helplessly as Link became still beneath her hands, his features smoothing as pain left his body. Letting out a sharp cry of grief, Zelda threw her head back and roared into the quiet, "I will do anything!"

A glaring light broke from the mosaic behind the statue of the goddesses to illuminate the entire room, blinding the inhabitants. Ganondorf howled in pain, and Zelda pressed her palms to her eyes to shut out the brightness.

"Princess," crooned an ethereal voice, emanating from what Zelda supposed was the heavens. "We have heard you plea."

Zelda gasped as she opened her eyes, but quickly shut them. The light was overwhelming.

"We will stop this cycle, but at the price of your freedom. The bearers of Courage and Power will have the choice to live as they please, but you will be bound to Hyrule forever."

The light began to grow brighter, if it were even possible. After a sharp intake of breath, the Princess felt a wave of lightheadedness pass over her, and she slumped forward onto the unmoving body of her hero. With the last of her conscious, she barely registered the next words of the goddesses.

"Perhaps the hero will find you in the next life…"


	2. Housework

**Author Note: **_Spoilers_ for Skyward Sword. This chapter contains a bit more of canon legend than there normally will be, so pay it no mind.

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**Housework**

Zelda felt a nudge at her side, but choose to ignore it. Her legs were beginning to cramp from kneeling so long, but she knew speaking during Abbess Impa's prayer would not bode well for her or boy at her side who was still incessantly poking her in the ribs to get her attention. She growled in a low voice to warn him off, but to no avail. Her head still bowed, she cracked open an eye to see a large grin on Link's innocent face.

She sighed. "What do you what?" she whispered.

He grinned even bigger, if that was possible. "Do you really think that Hylia turned herself human? What if she's in this room right now?"

This is what he was bothering her about?

"Link, we've already had this discussion. She could be _anybody_—why would she be here with us?"

"That's the point! She could be anybody, even someone in this abbey!"

"There's no way someone as important as Hylia would end up an _orphan_. The goddesses would never let that happen."

"But you never know. I don't think Hylia knows who she is anymore."

Suddenly, the other children around them began to stand up and stretch their weary legs. Abbess Impa's prayer must've ended while they were speaking.

"Children," the abbess began, "you may all head to the refectory for dinner."

Zelda raised her head as Link whooped in excitement. He loved food just as must as sleeping.

"Everyone may go, except Link and Zelda."

The two orphans froze in their tracks, and Zelda flustered. She turned an angry eye at Link and whispered, "Look what you did!" Link sheepishly rubbed the back of his head at his friend's anger before heading back down the long aisle to stand before the nun. Zelda hung her head in shame before the abbess, and Link could only stand mute, knowing it was his fault they were in trouble.

"Please forgive us, Abbess Impa," Zelda pleaded, her head still bowed. "We did not mean to disrupt the prayer."

"What was so important it warranted a conversation during midday prayer to the goddesses?" the abbess asked, her usually gentle eyes narrowed in concern.

"It was nothing of importance, Abbess," continued Zelda. "It was disrespectful of us. I promise it will never happen again."

"See that it does."

"Yes, Abbess Impa," they both replied demurely.

"As for your punishment, you both are to clean the sanctuary after evening prayer."

The sanctuary was quite large, and would take some time to clean. Zelda inwardly groaned, although Link had less self-control. The abbess threw him a sharp look, which led to him giving a hasty apology.

"You are dismissed."

As they trudged to the refectory for their dinner, Zelda sighed. The abbey had been her home ever since the sisters found her on their doorstep, a pink-cheeked babe wrapped in thin linen that did nothing to keep her warm in the winter blizzards. It was a miracle she survived her first year.

"Aw, it's not so bad, Zelda," Link spoke beside her. He had been found in the neighboring woods, brought in by some travelers who had spotted him nestled in the bushes. He was alone, with no indication of who he was.

"We have to clean the sanctuary! We'll never have any time to ourselves before bedtime!"

"There are two of us, so it shouldn't take so long. I promise I'll work hard!" The boyish grin was back on his face as he spoke.

Zelda couldn't help but smile back at her dear friend. "Fine, but you'll have to sweep, then!"

His drooping of his smile was almost immediate. "What? But the sanctuary's huge! That'll take forever!"

Zelda stopped walking, propping her hands on her hips. "Fitting, considering it was you that got us into this mess."

He sighed. "Yes, Zelda."

"Good. Now let's go before dinner's over!"

She looped her arm through his, a sparkle in her eyes that dazzled so brilliantly it threatened to immobilize him, and dragged him as she began to skip down the hall.


	3. Cooking

**Cooking**

"Only three months out here and you're already getting calls from beautiful women?" Pipit teased as he hefted another piece of wood over his shoulder.

"Huh?" asked Link, putting down his hammer. He ran a sleeve over his sweat-covered brow and turned a curious eye to his companion.

Pipit threw his head in the direction of the house where a woman stood at the door, a basket hanging off her arm. She tilted her head back, as if to make sure she stood in front of the correct house, causing her long blonde hair to fall over her shoulder. She looked around, and a smile grew on her face when she spotted Link.

"Uh…" Link began. "Do you know her?" He turned to his friend, one of the first people he had met when he and his sister had moved out West.

"Of course," Pipit answered, as if it were the stupidest thing to ask. "I know everyone in town."

"Right," said Link, still getting used to how different it was out here compared to the city. The woman began walking their way, and he began to panic slightly. She _was_ beautiful, and he was dirty with the filth that came with building a barn. Hardly appropriate to met a lady. "Why is she here? What do I do?"

Pipit scoffed loudly. "Just greet her." The woman came closer, and seeing how Link was still a mumbling mess of nerves, Pipit called out, "Hello, Zelda."

"Hello, Pipit," came the gentle voice of the blonde woman before them. "I see you're working hard to welcome our new neighbors."

"This city boy needs all the help he can get," answered Pipit with a smile as he lifted his hammer to nail the wood at his feet.

The woman, Zelda, turned to Link now, and tilted her head in a curious manner. "I don't think we've met yet. I'm Zelda Harkinian, the schoolteacher."

Link flushed immediately. "Oh, you're Aryll's teacher. Yes, um, that's good. I mean, it's nice to meet you, Miss Harkinian. I—I'm Link."

She laughed, a melodious tinkle that mesmerized him. "Please, call me Zelda. I've never gotten used to hearing the children call me Miss Harkinian at school."

"Zelda," Link began, testing her name on his tongue. It rolled off easily and seemed so familiar, as if he'd been saying it his whole life. "How can I help you?"

"Well," she started, beginning to look sheepish herself. She looked down into her basket and rummaged around to avoid looking Link in the eye. "Aryll was telling me she didn't have very much in the way of a garden, and she did hint that she was tired of having only bread and cheese for lunch."

Link winced. With focusing on building the barn before the winter storms came in, he didn't have much time to ride into town to buy seeds. He knew it was an important matter to deal with, but they had enough flour for bread to last them for a few more months. Living on the bare necessities was something he and his thirteen-year-old sister had learned early on after the death of their parents. They made do with living with their grandmother for a few years, but after her passing a few months ago, they sold their meager belongings and bought land out west to get away from the depressing atmosphere of the city.

Zelda continued, "So I've brought along some seeds and corn with me to see if I could help some."

"Oh, you really didn't have to," protested Link. He wondered how badly he seemed to be doing everything lately. Life in the west was drastically different from his previous life in the city, and he seemed to be at a loss at how to do anything. It took several weeks for him to swallow his pride and ask Pipit to help him build a barn for when he bought more cattle and chickens, but taking charity from the local schoolteacher was a bit too much. "We're doing quite fine—"

"Oh, no, I'm sure you are," Zelda quickly interrupted, "but I thought perhaps we could have a trade, of sorts."

Link quirked a brow.

"Aryll tells me you were educated in the city and that you're very familiar with numbers."

"Aryll speaks very much, doesn't she?"

The bashful look had reappeared on her face. "I was hoping that in exchange for my help, specifically cooking lessons"—now Link looked bashful at the mention of his terrible culinary skills—"you could teach me arithmetic? I know the basics, of course, but there isn't much I could learn from the old primary books the schoolhouse has. It would be wonderful to be able to teach the children more than I was able to learn when I was their age."

Taking in her image, the clear blue eyes that seemed impossible of malice, the gentle fall of her blonde hair over her back, petite hands that grasped the handle of the basket in earnest, Link found he couldn't deny her even if he wanted to.

"S-sure," he said simply.

The lighting of her face with happiness was nearly immediate, and Zelda practically jumped with joy. "Thank you, Link!" she beamed. "Is Aryll inside? I should tell her how to properly plant these seeds."

"Y-yeah, of course." Standing in a daze, Link's gaze followed the blonde woman as she turned and made her way to his small home. Behind him, Pipit snickered.

Link turned to the man and spoke without preamble, "You know everyone, right? Is she taken? Does she have a beau?"

Looking up from his work, Pipit could only laugh. "I figure she will soon enough."


	4. Come What May

**Come What May**

Zelda tipped her large, gaudy beach hat lower on her face and turned to Link. "I think we've been found out," she murmured in a sing-song voice. The large sunglasses on her face, coupled with the ridiculous hat Link had been loath to buy her, did well to disguise her features, but the natural grace she moved with had been captured by the camera so well numerous times, it was hard to not recognize her by movement alone. Her long, sandy-haired mane flowing down her back didn't help either.

Shifting his eyes over the group of giggling girls Zelda had no doubt been referencing, Link threw a dazzling smile their way, and roped an arm around his companion's waist.

"Time to move on, then," he said good-naturally, leading them away from the open-air market of the beach resort they had disappeared to for the week. It was their quiet vacation of the year, and if he could've helped it, even his agent wouldn't have known where they were going. But Alfonzo had persisted, and Link, having owing his whole career to the man, relented.

Zelda padded her way down the boardwalk, hips swaying as the sheer wrap tied off at her hip floated in the cool, ocean breeze. Link, following a few paces behind, took in her forest green bikini ("Your favorite color, right?" she teased him earlier) and felt a small smile light up his face.

They found their way to their hotel room, and Link all but ran and jumped onto the bed, the flowered-print comforter scrunching underneath his weight. He spread out his limbs and gave a contented sigh.

"Are you going to nap again?" the blue-eyed woman said as she lifted the hat from her head. Smoothing out her hair, she snapped off her sunglasses and peeked a glance at her husband through the mirror.

"Probably."

She made a disapproving noise, but threw off her wrap and joined him on the bed, snuggling close and laying an arm over his chest. Unconsciously, Link nestled closer to the woman beside him, breathing in the comfortingly familiar scent of daffodils.

"Really? Then you won't get to hear the good news."

"Hmmffghh?" answered an apparently already-half-asleep Link.

"I've been offered a role in Rauru Gaepora's new movie."

At the mention of the famous director, Link's eyes snapped open to find the arm across his chest was holding a phone and scrolling through an email.

"I thought we said no work during vacation?" he said accusingly.

"I know, but Malon was going to email me a picture of her new foal and I couldn't help but read the message from Midna." Midna, Zelda's agent, was a godsend. The two women, although complete opposites personality-wise, had clicked the minute they met, and it was a winning team the moment Zelda was signed on. "She says I'm perfect for this role and there's no way she's letting me turn it down."

Link snatched the phone from his wife and read the message. "A princess of a magical land?" He scoffed. "She thinks you're a princess?"

Scowling, Zelda reached for her phone, but to no avail against Link's longer arms. "Give me that!" Finally retrieving the desired item, Zelda sat up and asked, "How can you say that? I think I'm princess material."

A snicker left Link's mouth. "Midna's never seen you eat pumpkin soup before."

Zelda had the grace to color at the mention of her favorite food. "Well, I can't help it if Malon uses her special milk to make such a wonderful dish!" Turning away from Link, she continued, "Well, fine, if you think I'm so wrong for the role, I guess I have to take up Groose's newest project. His just finished his script last year, but production's already started. Something about a man traveling to a new world to save his beloved from a demon."

"Eh," Link spoke indifferently, "Groose is a decent writer."

"I hear Ganondorf is playing the part of the main character."

"Dragmire?" Link bolted upright at the name, eyes narrowed. "That man is evil, I tell you. He's better suited playing the villain than the hero."

"You are so mean, Link! How can you say that if you hardly know the man?"

"Have you not seen him smile?" His face contorted into what was clearly an evil smirk, and Zelda couldn't help but giggle. "I bet he stomps kittens in his spare time."

"Stop it, Link. He's nothing but a gentleman whenever we meet him."

"I swear he makes googly eyes at you when I'm not looking," Link pouted.

"And how can you know that if you're not looking?" Zelda teased.

Leaning close to his wife, Link spoke, his breath fanning against her cheek, "Because no man on earth can resist your charm."

"Really?" With closed eyes, Zelda tilted her head until her lips touched the swirl of his ear. "And what about you?" she whispered.

"I'm immune," he spoke into her hair, and she could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"Is that so?" she crooned as she pulled away and stood up, her silhouette outlined by the setting sun streaming through the glass doors that lead out onto a balcony. She reached for a pink bathrobe and slipped it on, making her way to the bathroom.

"Hey, I—no, wait," the blonde man stuttered, clambering after her. "I was joking. C'mon, Zelda…"

A merry laugh erupted from Zelda. With a tilt of her head, she sauntered back to her husband and wrapped both arms around his neck. "I know. I've learned to disregard half of what you say as nonsense."

"So about Gaepora's movie…is there a male lead?"

"Maybe. Every princess needs a hero, right?" Link's boyish grin never ceased to make Zelda's heart flutter. She continued, "Although, I do distinctly remember something about a foolish green hat that goes along with the part."

"Anything for my princess."


End file.
